Daily life of a cultivation judge

Once they were at the capital the Imperial Secretary noticed Yang Qing's, Luo Meili's, and Su Jinjing's awed looks as they looked around. 

He secretly mindfully instructed the obsidian nightflame osprey to decrease its speed so the trio could enjoy.

There was a small tug on his lips as he took in their reactions. All who came to their capital would all have the same reaction as they soaked in the spirit of the history of the Deer Mountain Kingdom, established over thousands of years.

It was something that filled the citizens of the kingdom with great pride. However, moments later a worried look that was mixed with anger couldn't help but appear on his face before he hurriedly quelled it.

"Power really corrodes the mind the longer you swim in it if you're not careful. If only we could be like them.." thought the Imperial Secretary as his gaze fell on the citizens below who were laughing, sharing stories and meals together, others were arguing over a particular part of the history of their kingdom, while children were running around the statues pretending to be the heroes from those statues.

Because of the constant dangers the totality of the Deer Mountain Range posed on the Deer Mountain Kingdom, its citizens were united on the common goal of ensuring the survival of their home. Every victory, every loss, every celebration, every mourning bonded them closer and closer together, but the same could not be said of those at the top.

They would laugh and share meals and conversations, but none of it was real. In secret and now in the open, they were constantly scheming and attacking each other trying to pull each other down. 

They were at each other's throats same as any spirit beast out there. They lacked the sense of camaraderie and togetherness shown by the citizens of their kingdom, despite all of them having seen the struggles the kingdom has been through to reach where it was. 

The Imperial Secretary tried to understand why, just why did those who made an oath to protect and safeguard the kingdom were now the ones tearing it apart brick by brick.

"If it's because we have been at peace for too long that they forgot maybe what happened the other day with the two obsidian serpents and the information the Order shared with us, should be sufficient to drive fear into them and rebuild the sense of fear and urgency we seem to have lost.." thought the Imperial Secretary.

It wasn't long before the royal building was in sight.

It was made entirely of black luminous jade and was engraved with gold runes that let out a gentle glow that matched perfectly with the radiant light falling from the sun.

The black luminous jade that gave off a feeling of the night starry sky, the flickering of the runes, and the sunlight that fell on it, all seemed to give the building an austere and mystical quality. 

The building felt like a solitary warrior who had just survived a terrifying battle in which millions fell, and only they remained standing amidst the pile of corpses and destruction. Even though they were battered all over, the breadth of their spirit as the living managed to dwarf the presence of the tragedy around them.

The royal building that stood out with the luminous black jade served as a constant reminder and source of refuge and pillar of support to its people, that it was still standing, be it night or day, it was still standing.

"We will have to go by foot from here, Judge Yang Qing, i hope you don't take offense..." the Imperial Secretary politely said as he ushered the obsidian nightflame osprey downwards.

"It's no problem.." Yang Qing casually said as he took the sights around him particularly two statues that drew his eyes.

The two statues were of a dragon turtle. The stones they were made out of were weathered and had cracks all over, however, those statues which looked like they were days away from turning to stand released a subtle majestic presence that made the hairs on Yang Qing's back stand on end.

Yang Qing wasn't completely certain but he felt those statues had some vitality to them. He was most sensitive to the aura of life, and for some reason, he could detect a faint life aura coming from the two statues. It was like that of the dying flames of a candle.

"Meili, Jinjing, do you feel anything from those two statues?" asked Yang Qing through secret transmission.

Both Luo Meili and Su Jinjing shook their head sideways.

"Why do you ask?" curiously asked Su Jinjing.

"I am not too sure, they seem strange.." said Yang Qing as he felt the life aura from the two statues, disappear.

"Imperial Secretary Jia Shu did your kingdom make those two statues? They have excellent craftsmanship. It's rare to see a statue so lifelike. It has managed to capture the aura of the turtle dragon so perfectly.." 

The Imperial Secretary turned his gaze to the two statues as a small smile appeared on his lips.

"Those two statues were not made by anyone from the kingdom. They have been there since the start of the kingdom. 

At a glance, we could tell that there was something special about them but to date, we don't know what. We did try to repair it but every craftsman we have brought either from the kingdom or outside, has failed to restore it. 

They couldn't so much as chip it even slightly and any material they used to fill in the gaps of the cracks, all dissolved and disappeared, no matter how sturdy it was, every material used suffered the same fate.

The first king and those who succeeded him after, have kept the two statues around as a symbol of where he has come from. They represent the resiliency of our kingdom perfectly. We don't know when they were made, but they are still hanging on to this day.

I hope that the Deer Mountain Kingdom can borrow their luck and reliance and last as long as them.

I think maybe that's why they've been kept around.." Imperial Secretary Jia Shun said as he patted the heads of the two statues.

"Sorry for that, let's go in. The king and the rest should be waiting.." he added as he led them to the core part of the building.

The royal building was built like a ring with different smaller buildings joined together to create a larger part.

Where they were was like the outer wall, and they were moving to the inner walls. The two guards that were at the entrance gate were caught by surprise when they saw the four of them appear suddenly out of nowhere, but they quickly recollected themselves when they saw the Imperial Secretary.

After a courtesy bow and greetings, the guards opened to the four to lead them to the inner parts of the palace.